Solar imports from India, Indonesia, Laos to be tariffed beginning in November

The U.S. International Trade Commission has ruled that solar panel makers in the U.S. have been hurt by unfairly priced solar cells and modules imported from India, Indonesia and Laos. As a result, the government will place new tariffs, called antidumping and countervailing duties, on solar cells and panels from those three countries. The Department of Commerce will issue the official orders on November 2, and U.S. Customs will start collecting the added fees on imports from those countries after that.

This follows a 15-month investigation, sparked by a complaint from a group of domestic solar manufacturers who said companies had shifted production to India, Indonesia and Laos to dodge tariffs already in place on other countries. With this decision, similar tariffs now apply to solar imports from China, Taiwan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Laos. The government is also looking into possible tariffs on solar imports from Ethiopia and South Korea, though those cases are still open.

For homeowners thinking about solar, this is a sign that the supply of lower-cost imported panels may keep shrinking as more countries face these import fees. That could affect panel pricing over time, though the article does not give specific numbers on how much panel costs might change. If you are planning a solar installation, it may be worth asking installers whether the panels they use come from any of these tariffed countries and how that might affect your quote.